Oh is there anything that will stop your house from being a priceless showpiece more than having kids?
Not that I’ve ever had a priceless showpiece of a house… ever. But I didn’t mind myself a bit of a tidy abode from time to time. I am inherently lazy so sometimes it was a bit of a struggle, but there’s such a good feeling to be had when you’re sitting on the couch surrounded by cleanliness and order.
Matt and I lived in the grottiest share house known to man when we first got together. So grotty in fact, that before I began living there, I broke in one day when everyone was at work and scrubbed the bathroom. The house was OLD, and a bunch of dudes lived there. I got tuberculosis from just looking at the shower, let alone stepping into it. There was nothing I could do to make that house look anything other than old and like a bunch of dudes lived there, so I learned to live with it. Someday I’d have a fancy house!
Our next stop was a tiny little shack by the beach, which also was old but bereft of a bunch of dudes. There was only us two, but still there wasn’t much that could be done to make the place look nice.
Now we live in a larger house that is slightly more modern, but still old. So no matter how hard I try, the laundry still looks awful, the bathroom tiny and ancient, and everything else just a little bit blah. It’s super-hard to be motivated to keep it looking nice if all efforts are going to fail anyway. We moved in before Abby was born, and I figured we could spruce it up once I recovered from that whole having a baby business. But then I had another baby and the house still doesn’t look much different! One thing I did do though, was go through the house and purge everything that I didn’t think needed to be around. I knew I wasn’t going to get much cleaning or tidying done with a newborn and a toddler, so if there was less clutter then it would take a longer time to get to the point where it was in such disarray I couldn’t stand it any more.
I have only just gotten the urge back to be houseproud (I’m a firm believer of letting the housework fall by the wayside when you have babies), and I totally blame Beth at BabyMac with her damn Beverley magazine. Here I was, innocently reading and enjoying myself until I spotted a vignette of some corner of her house artfully decorated and with fresh flowers in a pretty vase. My house did not look like that. My house has no vignettes and it certainly had no fresh flowers. I didn’t even own a vase. Something stirred in me that afternoon as I looked at the page, and remembered how shiny Beth’s floors always looked, and how much she enjoyed creating a beautiful space for her family to live. I immediately got up and scrubbed the mould off the back of the laundry door that had been there for a month.
It feels good to be houseproud again. It felt good to be inspired. It is a lovely sight to see an clean dining table and a clutter-free bench. Now, our house is super-small so all it needs is one coffee cup and it looks disorganised and messy, so it’s a bit of a work in progress. And I don’t mind toy mess – that’s a constant with kids. What I loathe is dirty dishes, dirty floors and unmade beds. I kept up with those pretty well the last seven months, but it really has taken me this long to take the next step and work on other areas of the house!
Well, except the washing… man, that is the worst chore ever.
So tell me how you do it – is your house old and impossible to make fancy? do you have a cleaning schedule? How do you make a small house not look like a refuge?
And can you come mop my floors?
Danielle says
May 15, 2013 at 4:41 amYou are so funny and your writing is so clear and nice. I have a large and new house, but MAN the washing, cleaning and organising, blah, sometimes I hate it…..
XO Danielle
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:27 amOh that’s the best compliment, thank you so much! Totally made my day!
I get your point too – I often wonder how much I would hate to vaccuum a gigantic house… too much to do!
meetoprahwheatfree says
May 15, 2013 at 4:44 amI feel ya Stacey. I find clean surfaces (tables, the mantelpiece, desks) give the illusion of order, or just empty-ish spaces generally. My worst habit used to be the number of boxes, drawers, cupboards filled with utter CRAP. Then I had a massive clear out on ebay and realized how much stuff i was holding onto for no reason. I wouldn’t beat yourself up about the filth. And if all else fails, tie a little duster or mop to one of your gorgeous babes! 🙂 Ella
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:26 amOh yeah, Pepper is getting around on the floor heaps, I’ll make her into a cat mop! I did the ebay thing too, before she was born. I don’t seem to be able to get rid of too much though, I only have the bare minimum as it is… except I can’t seem to keep my desk clear! eek.
Rebecca says
May 15, 2013 at 5:08 amI don’t think it matters if you have a nice new house or an old small one, kids are kids are kids, they make ANY house messy and EVERY mama tired! While they are little, let the mess be there, spend the time chasing/playing with the little ones, cleaning can come later when they don’t want you around as much! 🙂 Rebecca (by the way, I LOVE your writing!!)
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:24 amHaha thank you! What a lovely thing to say.
I totally spend all my time playing with them, which is why my laundry door was so filthy, haha. Maybe I should just hire a cleaner!
Jo (down to earth mother) says
May 15, 2013 at 6:13 amHi Stacey, as someone who’s been on the move for more than a decade. I’ve never been houseproud…. until now. And I’m still very much in the aspirational phase. Home has always been somewhere to roost for me, while the real excitement happens elsewhere. But two babies down the line, I spend a whole lot more time here in my 70s yellow-brick shocker. A few months ago after spending time at an effortlessly stylish friend’s home, I decided it was time to get rid of the eight different kinds of wallpaper and once-was-shag carpet. It still hasn’t happened, but the craving is there. Is this a sign of growing up?
I used to want to slap Oprah when she said “your home should rise up to greet you”. Mine kind of rise up to swallow me. But I think I get what she was on about now!
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:23 amHaha I blame her too! But my bedroom is hardly a sanctuary and my house rises up to greet me with forty things I need to put away. I did learn to keep all my stuff off the counters in the bathroom from her, though. That made a huge difference.
I don’t want super-fancy, I just want something that looks clean after I’ve actually cleaned it. You wouldn’t think that would be too much to ask, huh?!
thelifeofclare says
May 15, 2013 at 7:43 amI’m house proud, our house is mostly neat and tidy, but like you, we live in an older house and it’s just blah! It’s a rental, so there’s not a lot we can do. But one day we’ll have our own house and be able to do what we want to it.
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:22 amRenting is very restrictive, huh. And I’ve noticed, so is having two children close together and before you know it, three years have passed and you’re still sitting in the same house you never had a chance to change! I don’t like blah, wah!
Lila Wolff says
May 15, 2013 at 7:46 amI don’t know anymore! I used to be great at it but by the time I clean one mess Eve has made another two.
Storage would be my big tip I was much better at keeping houses that had ample storage clean than ones like this one that has nowhere to put stuff away.
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:21 amI think that’s my problem – lack of storage. I felt so good last time I got rid of all the things I didn’t need, but I can’t bear to part with my teacups and thousands of books, so I think I just need a bigger house and then I won’t notice the claustrophobic clutter, haha x
Beth Macdonald says
May 15, 2013 at 10:00 amI’m SO happy that I got rid of your mouldy laundry door! It’s so nice to feel happy about the space you live in – and it just doesn’t have to be about buying stuff. I reckon that fresh flowers make ALL the difference. Even just green cuttings from the garden. Throw in some lamps or candles, some kids artwork on the walls and you are GOOD TO GO. Kids always make a mess, that’s their job, but teaching them to keep things tidy and have respect and care for your things and where you live can make the job easier for you. Thanks Veggie x
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:20 amI think that’s what I’m going to do when they’re older – have a place for all their stuff and help them learn to care for it. I don’t like buying things, I don’t have the room for them anyway, but if I could just learn to keep the things I already DO have clean, then I’m right as rain! I have so many antique and vintage knick-knacks that I adore, but boy do they collect a lot of dust. I can’t bear to put them away though so I either have to live with it or figure out a routine!
Love the cuttings from the garden idea, I did a little sprig of rosemary last week and felt very Beverley-like x
MotherDownUnder says
May 15, 2013 at 10:24 amI used to put so much effort into keeping our house clean and tidy. And I used to have time to go to my favourite op shops and pick up pretty bits and pieces. Not so much anymore.
Our house is still cleanish and tidyish…but never as clean or as tidy as I would like.
I love that moment after I have spent a day scrubbing and finding homes for things and I can sit on the couch, relax and take it all in!
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:18 amYes! Yes that’s it – it’s cleanish and tidyish. Enough to get by but there’s always something. I really dig a friendly, clean space. That we can then mess up with paint and play dough!
Kelly Exeter says
May 15, 2013 at 10:45 amOur first house was ooooooold and as you say, nothing could make certain parts of it like nice. Then we knocked it down and built a new one and oh how I loved everything being bright, shiny and CLEAN! I was totally house proud – and even managed to be that way with a toddler. We just moved out of said house last week because we are building again. Now we are at my FIL’s place and I really miss the control I had over the state of my abode!
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:17 amI’m so looking forward to getting something a bit newer when we move. We’ve been so grateful to live here very cheaply so it hasn’t really been much of an issue, but I do so want a pretty laundry!
Meanwhile, living with other people would be SO hard. Especially with kiddies. I hope you’re getting plenty of snuggles in for meeeeee x
Serene says
May 15, 2013 at 10:56 amStacey, I hate mopping floors! If you mop mine, I’ll do your laundry 🙂
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:16 amAll right – but who should we get to vaccuum them first?!
Peggy says
May 16, 2013 at 11:15 pmI love vacuuming, I’ll do it. I am also partial to scrubbing the loo, don’t ask me why!
Serene says
May 17, 2013 at 12:27 pmPeggy, you’re most welcome to come scrub my toilets! Do you by any chance like scrubbing grout in the shower too? That’s another chore I keep putting off. 🙂
Amy Zempilas says
May 15, 2013 at 11:07 amGreat post lovely! I am chronically house proud and clean most days, I do give myself a day off now and again – but with an apartment full of glass and shiny surfaces – I have to get the Windex out most evenings or mornings to wipe away sticky hand prints. I don’t mind most housework but I LOATHE ironing and always have a big pile. I don’t mind ironing Ava’s clothes (I love seeing her clothes all clean, ironed and folded in her drawers) but mine and my hubbys tends to accumulate. I’ll mop someones floor if they do my ironing??? 😉 x x x
Veggie Mama says
May 15, 2013 at 11:16 amHaha I actually like ironing! Only I keep forgetting to do it. I couldn’t deal with the shiny and glass business, I’d see fingerprints EVERYWHERE and it would drive me batty. Probably why I’m into antique furniture, you can’t really tell how long it’s been since you dusted, haha x
Amy Zempilas says
May 16, 2013 at 3:26 pmFunny thing is, I actually prefer old / antique furniture too! I inherited my hubby’s bachelor pad furniture which suits our apartment… but if we ever buy a house….. 😉 x x x
Smaggle says
May 15, 2013 at 12:09 pmI grew up in a house that looked like a show room. My mother is the most house proud woman on the planet. If you stop by her house to surprise her one afternoon she’ll be sitting in her immaculate house drinking a cup of tea, the kitchen spotless. I’m not quite as cray cray as her but I have a few weird things. I HAVE to make my bed every day and I cannot, under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES sleep if there’s a cupboard or drawer open in my bedroom.
Karen says
May 15, 2013 at 7:57 pmSame!! Always closing doors and drawers before bed. My husband thinks I am a freak. We can be freaks together. 😉
Smaggle says
May 22, 2013 at 4:15 pmWe’ll be freaks in clean houses! 🙂
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:42 amI am terrified of people stopping by to surprise me. Mostly because I’m never wearing pants.
Sarah Owen-Green says
May 15, 2013 at 12:33 pmHubby and I both work full-time and travel about 4 hours a day to/from work, so the justification to get a cleaner was totally there and… It has changed my life! Now, instead of spending hours on the weekend cleaning to get the house up to my house proud standard – we both kick back and hang out with our 19 month old, Poet. I love my cleaner and I love a clean house, but I love having my weekends back for family time even more! I agree with you on the old house vs new house thing though… We’re in an oldish place and have family and friends moving into brand spanking new places and they just LOOK cleaner and better…. All in good time though 🙂
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:43 amyes it’s the illusion that things are shiny and new and nice! And probably just as clean as mine, but it shows up so much more.
Must investigate a cleaner… I’d much rather be outside making mud pies 🙂
Reannon Hope says
May 15, 2013 at 1:03 pmI hate cleaning but love a clean house. When my big two were little & I worked part time I found it much easier to stay on top of the housework but as the grew & so did my workload cleaning was the first thing to go. Having an inside dog who sheds hair at a very ridiculous rate does not help either! I’m actually hoping that now I’m on mat leave I’ll find my cleaning groove again, that’s as soon as I’m not on the lounge feeding all the time!
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:42 amMeh, I would stretch that couch time out as much as possible! That’s what I did, and then one day I was like “right, that’s over, time to get tidy!”
The Wildflowers says
May 15, 2013 at 1:16 pmI have a dishwasher for my dishes,but I still have to wash the saucepans and frypans etc..which sucks most of the time.I basically force myself to do washing.I ended up buying pretty wicker baskets for my clean washing so when it comes in from the line dry it can sit about for the many days unfolded like it always does,but looks nice 😀
I have 4 young kids aged 7.5 years down to almost 3 years,so we try to get them involved in the cleaning of messes and not just the making of,which they are crafty in!
They make their beds every morning,fold their pjs and put dirty clothing into the basket in the laundry.I wash bedding once a week,towels 2 times a week,rugs and so on once a week and do a load of washing everyday.
I mop once a day,sometimes twice.I think it’s merely that we HAVE to do it.
We rent through Defence Housing,so I can’t do all the things I really want with the home,and of late have started to feel we are living in limbo until we can buy our own home!!!
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:41 amOh it’s the limbo that kills me too. And I spent a lot of years with things packed away for “someday”. I have to force myself to do the washing too – I’m fine with putting it in the washing machine, but then life gets in the way!
The Wildflowers says
May 15, 2013 at 1:19 pmStacey..you vacuum?I never brought one after the last one croaked.Thank goodness for tiled floors.Note to self though-buy a vacuum.
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:40 amCANNOT STAND DIRT UNDER MY BARE FEET! So yes, I vacuum. And we only have carpet in the bedrooms, so I vacuum the lot. But only about once a week, i need to change that…
Lisa Mckenzie says
May 15, 2013 at 1:19 pmYep I have a cleaning schedule,my whole life is a schedule though lol .I have a big house 4 bedrooms study and a bar room for the hubby with doors so he and his little friends can hide in there.Wednesday I change the sheets and wash the towels and do a little bit of dusting in some of the less used rooms and on Thursday I clean the whole house,takes quite a few hours but I like it like that and I always do the bathrooms everyday and the kitchen and the floors,I think I am a bit OCD.your house always looks tidy Stacey when you post pics and you know what who cares the dirt is not going to run away ,though I do wish the cleaning fairies would come in the night and do all the work ,how great would that be!
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:40 amI really like how you have certain days to do certain things! I might introduce that and see how I go.
tessa : down that little lane says
May 15, 2013 at 1:58 pmTotally house proud. It doesn’t have to be full of amazing things just to be clean, nicely presented and filled with love. I love creating little pockets that make me smile as a I pass.
I think once the kids got past 3 I had to accept that there would be a few days each week that were messy as otherwise I would be following them around with a hoover and glass cleaner!!
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:39 amMine is mostly clean, and under the clutter is very nicely presented! I don’t mind if it’s not tidy because of kids, what I mind is my own laziness. If I could just outsource the laundry… !
Katie Neatbird says
May 15, 2013 at 3:13 pmYou will see for yourself how anal I am! I kind of envy chicks like you who can & do let it go in times of new born baby etc. But baby, I was born this way!
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:38 amMaybe the second one will knock you off your perch? It did me!
Sharon Alger says
May 15, 2013 at 5:15 pmOur house is either the oldest or second oldest on the street, I can’t remember which.
I love its character, I call it our little alpine cottage. We’re still working out what goes where, and how we’re going to fix thiings to our liking. Which means it’s still a mess. I’m determined that when my youngest starts school next year, that’s it! It’s going to get nice, and it’s going to be kept that way.
It’s funny too, because our house before this one was 100 years old (the front bit, anyway..) I was always embarassed at the state of it, because no matter what we did, it was so old, if people came over, I’d just want to DIE!
Then, my teenage daughter’s best friend was at that house waiting for her to come home, and I did my whole, ‘I’m so sorry for the pig sty you see’ spiel. She told me, ‘I love coming to your house, it’s so comfortable and relaxed’. It put things in perspective a lot. I think if you have lots of love in your house, that’s the main thing that matters. But I still want it nice too, dammit.
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:38 amhaha I want nice, AND comfortable and relaxed! I’m doing pretty well, but my plethora of beautiful dust-traps are not helping. But I’ll be damned if I box my books and trinkets away! I just need to get used to dusting haha
Kelley @ magnetoboldtoo says
May 15, 2013 at 7:13 pmWhen my kids were small (hell, even when they were bigger) and I couldn’t keep my house tidy with those little bastards (yes, technical term) following behind me messing everything up, I had my glasses cupboard.
A cupboard that was ALWAYS tidy. The glasses were always lined up and shining and pretty and when I was completely overwhelmed with toys and crap everywhere I could go to my glasses cupboard and feel like SOMETHING was tidy.
And people wonder why I had a stroke. Heh.
(I will totally come and mop your floors)
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:37 amMy floors are waiting! I’ve been trying to keep the bedroom tidy, and then I dump a week’s worth of clean washing into it…
Karen says
May 15, 2013 at 7:54 pmI can relate. I believe there are better things to do with my life than clean. That said, with 5 people in our house, things can easily fall in a heap if we’re not organised and clean(ish).
After much trial and error (and 3 kids in four years) I’ve realised the only time I can get some serious cleaning done is when everyone else is out of the house. Our new thing is my husband takes all 3 kids to AusKick on Saturday morning, and I take an hour or two to speed clean. I don’t love it, but I love the feeling of having it clean once a week and not having to pay someone else to do it. Whatever jobs I miss, I just start with the next week.
During the week we stay on top of clutter and washing and it’s working really well.
SlapdashMama says
May 15, 2013 at 9:38 pmI am as lazy as all get out but I lurve a tidy welcoming house. I have lived in hideous share houses too and been a slack gross housemate but since those days I’ve been quite house proud. In a lazy way. As in I like faffing around with flowers and cushions but am not keen on loo cleaning. Hence the fortnightly cleaner. The Thing i battle since kiddies is the freaking clutter. It depresses the hell out of me.
SlapdashMama says
May 15, 2013 at 9:40 pmAlso, our house is not tiny but I don’t think it helps! We just spread all our crap to every corner anyway!
Lornie says
May 16, 2013 at 6:42 pmOur house is old and rented so there isn’t a whole lot we can do to it to make improvements, man I would love to get stuck into it! I have been getting rid of junk recently to make space from when our bub arrives and it has been fantastic to do that. Apart from that I try and keep it clean and have a bit of a schedule to help me with it, no doubt that will go out the (dirty) window when the bub arrives, but I’ll be so in love with the little bean I won’t care!
Veggie Mama says
May 20, 2013 at 3:03 pmhaha yep, welcome to my world! The windows get dirtier and dirtier. I just close the blinds x
Peggy says
May 16, 2013 at 11:14 pmOur abode is old, I have finally accepted that the 1982-built kitchen with the oven door hanging off (I mcgyver-ed it back on) is just what it is – old. The thing is though, it’s home, and I do love it. I was eager as when we first bought it, I transformed the front yard from a black sand + one wonky frangipani tree eye sore into a little tropical hideaway, I love it. I then started on the back garden but our dog destroyed any hint of paradise (he actually ATE a frangipani I had growing there) so now it remains dog friendly but a freaking mess that hurts the eyes.
Our humble abode is super small so to keep it tidy I do a quick trip around every day and pick up all the little bits of stuff lying around. I sweep every day, so the floors look clean (no-one needs to know if I haven’t mopped all week) and I always, always make the bed in the morning. I clean the bathroom one night, the next night the toilet. And the kitchen gets cleaned every night before bed. I used to be SUPER messy when I worked full time and loathed cleaning as it had to be done on one of my two days off, but now that I have more time at home I find I enjoy keeping the place looking nice. And by doing a small but every day means I am not spending half a day scrubbing it!
Wow, that was some novel! :p
Veggie Mama says
May 20, 2013 at 3:03 pmHaha I love a good novel comment! I love that you’ve transformed your little house into something you enjoy. Except the back garden, haha
I sweep several times a day (I CANNOT STAND dirty floors under my bare feet) but if I could be motivated to clean the bathroom as often as you do, I’d be laughing!
Lisa @ Greek Vegetarian says
May 20, 2013 at 3:39 pmUnfortunately, a long-haired cat that moults 365 days a year means a very furry house – I swear I pick up the equivalent of a whole cat’s worth of fur every day from these floors…
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:36 amOh yep I know the feeling. and just as you sit down, you see a stray hair…
Rachel from Redcliffe Style says
May 20, 2013 at 5:58 pmDefinitely flowers. A problem we always had was dog fur so the best thing we did was buy a dog that doesn’t loose fur.
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:36 amI had a cat that did that. Our new cat is neat as a pin!
Ashley Carr says
May 22, 2013 at 4:37 pmYes!! I am exactly in this place right now…. I want vignettes and flowers but I feel like all my efforts are stymied by sticky toddlers and my well meaning but very untidy husband. I look longingly at Beverley’s house and pinterest boards too and wonder if I will ever have the space I want… I recently cleaned and re-worked my craft cupboard and have banned the family from opening the doors.. If the huz can’t find me for a couple of days he’ll probably find me curled up in foetal position inside the craft cupboard. 🙂
Veggie Mama says
May 23, 2013 at 11:35 amhaha oh a craft cupboard! What I wouldn’t give. My linen cupboard houses towels and random ribbons, I really need to get that sorted. I think it’s my own untidiness that is my problem – the kids’ crap doesn’t bother me, but I won’t fold washing for about three weeks. I’ve gotta pull into gear!